Ethnic minorities in Balkan countries should be granted a "European minority status" to integrate them better into society, the new leader of Bulgaria's Turkish party has demanded.

This designation should be highlighted throughout Europe as a brand new concept for the integration of minorities, the new leader of Bulgaria's ethnic Turkish party, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Lyutvi Mestan, said in an interview for Today's Zaman.

The idea of giving religious and ethnic minorities in the Balkans a European minority status is not new and was first promoted by the former long-term leader of the party, Ahmet Dogan.